Can March, Manacor

For Can March restaurant in Manacor, 2025 is an important year because this iconic family business celebrates its centenary. First opened in 1925 as a café serving the good folks of Manacor, one hundred years later it’s a smart restaurant with an enviable, island-wide reputation. Can March will mark its centenary with some special events during the year and the publication of a book about the business and its history, in several languages including English.

The family members at the helm of Can March today are brothers Miquel and Tolo Gelabert. Chef Miquel describes his cuisine as ‘new Mallorcan’: traditional dishes with a modern and international touch, based on local, seasonal produce. Tolo and his wife Cati run the dining room, with their team of friendly servers. It’s a very efficient and friendly operation.

The restaurant’s attractive décor includes nods to Can March’s history, in the form of an impressive grandfather clock, some traditional Mallorcan furniture, and a wall display of old, framed photographs. It’s a place where you quickly at home.

The restaurant is a must in Manacor for a great value lunch menu (18€), and booking a table is essential as the locals (including me) love this place. Because Can March’s centenary year has begun we went for dinner – served only on Friday and Saturday evenings when there’s a choice of à la carte, Menu CM (40€), or the tasting menu Pinyol Vermell (50€, with optional wine pairing at 20€).

The à la carte starters include classics from the Mallorcan kitchen: a choice of organic ‘cocas’ made from local ‘xeixa’ wheat (9,50€), three types of ‘croquetas’ (6 for 13,50€), and ‘broken’ free-range eggs with black pork sobrassada and chips (13,50€).

We ordered à la carte, and I chose zucchini carpaccio (12,50€): attractively presented thin slices of courgette, liberally scattered with dried tomato from Manacor, tiny cubes of apple, DO Menorca cheese, black olives, and nuts. It’s a delicious and healthy starter. My companion chose hake and spinach croquetas, and the one I had – for review purposes, you understand – was excellent.

Before these arrived, we had a complimentary appetizer of bean soup – a small, comforting bowl of deliciousness.

The main courses include fish from the market, served ‘mallorquín’ style, suckling pig terrine, lamb terrine, beef sirloin steak, and rice dishes. Prices represent very good value for the quality. My companion chose cod with potato, egg, and sobrassada (19,50€) while I had fillet of line-caught hake served with red prawn, chard, and hazelnuts (22€). Desserts all cost 7€ and there’s a cheese option for 8€. We had a dessert that was an addition for that day, of apple cannelloni and ice cream – the perfect end to a satisfying and delicious dinner at Can March. If you’ve never been to this emblematic Manacor restaurant, make 2025 – its centenary – the year you do so.

Photos: Jan Edwards

Prices correct at time of writing.